Australia v England second Ashes Test predictions and cricket betting tips

Free cricket tips, best bets and analysis for Thursday's second Test between Australia and England in Adelaide.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 4am Thursday

Best bets

Marnus Labuschagne to be man of the match
1pt 10-1 BoyleSports

Travis Head top Australia first-innings runscorer
1pt 8-1 bet365, Betfred

Haseeb Hameed over 19.5 first-innings runs
3pts 5-6Hills

Team news

Australia
Josh Hazlewood is out with a side strain so paceman Jhye Richardson should come into the team. Opener David Warner is a doubt due to a rib injury and Usman Khawaja would be likely to deputise if Warner is ruled out.

England
James Anderson and Stuart Broad are pushing for recalls and spinner Jack Leach is likely to be dropped.

Second Test preview

England made the worst possible start to their 2021-22 Ashes campaign when opener Rory Burns was bowled by the first ball of the first Test and Joe Root's men are 12-1 to bounce back from their nine-wicket mauling in Brisbane by winning the series.

Burns's duck set the tone for England's first-innings 147 – a score that would be cause for celebration at the Crucible but less so at the Gabba – and an error-strewn display in the field helped Australia establish a decisive lead of 278.

England collapsed again in the second innings, folding from 223-2 to 297 all out, and the tourists may struggle to pick themselves up for the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval.

England believe the pink ball will suit their senior bowlers and they are ready to unleash James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who were left out of the first Test with Adelaide in mind.

That plan didn't entirely backfire as Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes bowled well in spells at the Gabba but it is unrealistic to expect Anderson and Broad to rip through the Aussie batting unit as they have done in home Ashes series.

Anderson has taken only one five-wicket haul in 18 Test matches in Australia, admittedly in the Adelaide day-nighter four years ago, while Broad's wickets down under have cost him an average of 37 runs apiece compared with 25.78 at home.

The harsh reality is that unless England's batsmen start posting big first-innings totals it does not really matter which of their bowlers are in the 11.

Only Root (89) and Dawid Malan (82) passed 40 in the first Test and, other than the skipper, only Burns has scored a Test century this year – and his other 16 innings have included six ducks.

England have been talking a good game about their pink-ball prowess but Australia walk the walk, winning all eight of their day-night Test matches, five of which were at at the Adelaide Oval, where they bowled out India for 36 this time last year.

They have lost Josh Hazlewood to injury and have a doubt over opener David Warner - both players have outstanding Test records in Adelaide - but new captain Pat Cummins enjoyed a perfect start at the Gabba, taking 5-38 in his first innings as skipper.

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey impressed on his debut while all-rounder Cameron Green and spinner Nathan Lyon outbowled their English counterparts Ben Stokes and Jack Leach.

Warner had some large slices of luck on his way to 94 but Marnus Labuschagne batted beautifully for his 74 before attempting one too many attacking shots against under-fire spinner Leach.

The Aussie number three looks too big at 10-1 to be man of the match given that he averages nearly 73 in home Tests and has scored 81, 162, 143, 50, 47 and six in his six day-night Test innings.

Travis Head played a stunning counter-attacking knock after Australia's middle-order stumbled in Brisbane, scoring the third-fastest century in Ashes history and finishing with 152 off 148 balls.

Head was not a guaranteed starter in this series but he now averages above 50 in home Tests and the South Australia captain will be brimming with confidence at his home ground, where he top-scored with 72 out of 235 against India in 2018. Odds of 8-1 about the number five leading the way again look too big to ignore.

There are some modest runs lines for England's batsmen but opener Haseeb Hameed coped well against the new ball in Brisbane, leaving judiciously and trusting his defensive technique. Hameed will have been frustrated not to kick on after reaching 25 and 27 at the Gabba and he should be backed to make at least 20 in the first innings in Adelaide.

Weather forecast

Sunny with light cloud throughout the match with temperatures ranging from 24C to 34C.

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